Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is again to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister adopt Labor's plan to provide the Fair Work Commission with the necessary powers to act on insecure work so that Australian workers can be better protected from exploitation and dangerous working conditions? Shouldn't every Australian worker be paid at least the minimum wage, and are there any circumstances where the government supports workers being paid below the minimum wage?

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the shadow minister for his question. Our government remains committed to the arrangements in the Fair Work Act. That includes matters to deal with the gig economy and, of course, secure work. Labor announced its very-light-on-detail Secure Australian Jobs Plan in February 2021. The existing objective of the Fair Work Act is to provide a balanced framework for cooperative relations between employers and employees and the delivery of a framework that is fair to working Australians while being flexible for businesses. This framework is designed to carefully balance the needs of employers and employees. The fact is that Australians value the diversity that the labour market and its various features offers. We are committed to the arrangements which exist under the Fair Work Act.